Back to School

 

Today was my first day of school and work as an Oregon State University Beaver.  The five top moments of my day were...drum roll please...
5.  Learning that part of my new job working in the Art Department office is scanning and archiving thousands of slides of paintings, etchings etc. from all over the world.  Seriously.  I'm really excited about it!
4.  Helping a girl wearing leopard print leggings, a black leather bustiere, and cat ears.  Can't beat the er...diversity of the art department :)
3.  Despite the several close calls, I didn't run into anyone or wipe out on my bike.
2.  My professor looks like Will Schuester.
1.  During lecture my professor quoted Goonies.  "Down here it's our time. It's our time down here."

It's gonna' be a great year! 

SMART

Heidi and I were at the store when her eyes fell upon the Halloween costumes.  She, of course, found one that she simple couldn't live without and started begging me to buy it for her.  I told her I wasn't sure how much Daddy wanted to spend on Halloween costumes this year and suggested that we go home and ask him.  Heidi had a suggestion of her own.  "How 'bout we buy it first and THEN ask Daddy!"

I didn't teach her that.  I swear. 

All things girl

Heidi loves all things girl. For her birthday she had a pink princess fairy tea party.  I never considered that her love of all things girl and exclusion of anything (and anyONE) boy could be a result of a simple error in learning the English language.   

 

The other day at the public library Heidi was sitting at the table in the kids section coloring a picture.  A little boy came and sat across from her.  There was only one bin of crayons and each time this little boy took one out to use it, Heidi gave him a crusty look.  At one point the boy had the red crayon and Heidi wanted it.  Thankfully (and surprisingly) she asked him for it.  The sweet little guy handed it over.  "MOM!"  Heidi yelled to me, "That........human shared his crayon!" 

 

Apparently my child doesn't even have the word, "boy" in her vocabulary.



 

I'm not dead yet (quoted with a Monty Python accent)

So it looks like when June hit I fell off the face of the earth.  It was something like that.  Leah and I survived the rest of the semester doing Connections Academy and got her moved up to fifth grade.  We celebrated Naomi's birthday and baptism (which deserves it's own post) then the school year ended.  Dad and the girls came home and the next day I started working full time at the Oregon Coast Aquarium.  I worked for Sharpshooters Imaging, taking souvenir pictures, editing, printing and selling them.  I also got to take pictures of Sea Lion Kisses several times a week.  It was fantastic!  My birthday came and went with a sweet celebration with my little family and at the end of July my brother Andrew spoiled us with a visit! 

While we were plugging away at day to day life, changes were brewing under the surface.  Lars and I have been dreaming about Lars writing a book...someday.  We decided to make "someday" today.  Since he would no longer be teaching in Waldport it was completely pointless to live there.  We decided Corvallis (an hour east of Newport) would be a great place to live.  It's a great community with fantastic schools, an hour from the coast and an hour from Portland.  This is where Oregon State University is located so we wanted to get moved in before all the students came back and scooped up all the housing and jobs.  We started looking on line in June for places to rent.  In July I found this great little duplex that we have since moved into.  It's at the end of a long private drive so there is no traffic, plenty of room for the girls to ride their bikes and has a great fenced in yard.  It's really an ideal place for us!   

We loaded up a moving truck at the beginning of August and left Waldport at 63 degrees to arrive in Corvallis at 93 degrees!  You could say it was a shock to the system.  :)  The girls had all dressed as they normally did in pants and long sleeved shirts with a jacket.  When we got out in Corvallis, Emilia burst into tears and said, "What is this?"  Heat.  "I don't like it!!"  I do.  I LOVE it.  I want to marry it.  Despite the warm weather several families from our new ward at church showed up and helped us unload the truck, brought us goodies and got us settled in.  We have been so warmly welcomed that it has been an easy transition. 

The only part that hasn't been easy (for the girls) is that we couldn't bring our cat with us.  I told them it came down to having a place to live, or having a cat.  After quite a bit of consideration, they finally agreed that it was probably more important to have somewhere to live.  Thankfully our friend was able to take Ramses and told the bawling girls that they could come visit him any time they wanted.

Well, I'm going to stop this post here and put the rest of my disjointed thoughts in another one.  Cheers.

A Vote of Confidence

Heidi's birthday is fast approaching.  To say she's excited is a vast understatement.  This morning Heidi decided she was going to make her invitations.  I decided I was going to take a shower. 

I turn on the water.
Heidi asks for paper.
I shampoo my hair.
Heidi asks for tape.
I shave my legs.
Heidi brings me a towel.
I get out and use said towel.
Heidi tells me to put on my undies and my clothes.
I ask her why.

"Because Mom," she answers, "My friends will see you with no clothes on...and your bum...and they will say, 'EWWWWW!  Let's have your birthday party somewhere else,' Just like I want to say."

Party canceled.  I'm going for a run.

Well I feel sheepish...

As I was driving around the neighborhood today, I noticed a little girl that I hadn't seen before running around alone.  When I say little, I mean under 2.  I slowed down to see if there were any adults around.  There were none in sight.  As I slowed down, she ran across the street and directly behind my car.  I couldn't see her anymore, so I put my car in park and got out.  When she saw me, she ran back to the house across the street and behind some bushes. 

I went up to the front door and could hear the vacuum running inside.  I figured the little cutie had pulled a fast one and escaped when she knew Mom couldn't hear her open the door.  Just as I knocked on the door, the mom flung it open and yelled, "LACY!"  It startled me and I startled her. 

I told the mom what had happened and that I was just worried about the kid.  The mom was apologizing profusely, saying this never happens, she had just checked on her two seconds ago, she was just in the kitchen...yada yada yada.  I assured her I completely understood, having four children of my own.  It happens, just wanted to make sure the little cutie was safe.
More apologies from her...
more reassurances from me that it could happen to anyone...
and then as if on cue, my own three year old opened the van door, bolted blindly across the street
and ran up to me...naked.

I scooped her up, smiled sheepishly and slunk back to my own house to study up on the proper care of children.

Cop Out

The Friday of Memorial Day weekend I drove into Corvallis to spend the afternoon with my friend.  I stayed longer than I planned (but actually expected) and started driving home around 11 pm.  Knowing full well that the cops are on the prowl more vigilantly this weekend than most others, I decided to drive back on a more rural highway hoping to avoid any interactions. 

Now this highway is not as busy as it's parallel counterpart to the north because it is far more windy.  (Why are windy-very curvy, and windy-blustery spelled the same?  This is very confusing.  Highway 34 is far more curvy than Highway 20, although it could also be more blustery as well...)  When you turn onto the road, there is about a four mile stretch that is straight before you hit the switchback turns.  There was one car in front of me with Washington plates, driving 5 under the speed limit.  I figured, if he's driving like this when the road is straight, he'll be crawling through the curves.  I needed to get home, I was scheduled for a ten hour shift the next day!

This was my one and only opportunity to pass before Washington doubled my drive time.  I went for it.  Two seconds later another car passed him as well.  Two seconds after that, red and blue lights were flashing in my rear view mirror.  I pulled over, cursing silently, and rolled down my window.  The officer came up to the window and forcefully spewed out, "You were swerving all over the road!  What's the rush?  Why did you pass the car in front of you when they were going exactly the speed limit?"  I was a little taken aback and responded with a "deer in the headlights" stare.  Then he asked for my license and registration.  Let me insert here that we still don't have license plates on our car (yes it's been two months since we bought it) and I had just been grocery shopping so I had bags all over the front seat.  I couldn't find my wallet.  I didn't know how to open the glove box.  Twenty minutes later, (it felt like it with a mean man and a flashlight staring down my back)  I handed him my license and registration.  He handed me back the registration with a dead pan, "This expired in 2010."  Rrrrright.  I dug a little deeper and found the correct registration...still in a sealed envelope.

He took them and went back to his car.  10 seconds later he was back at my window.  He handed me back my documents and said, "I thought you were drunk.  Don't swerve and don't speed.  Have a nice night."  Deer-in-the-headlight stare again.  He walked away.  I put my stuff away and pulled back onto the highway.  He followed.  I purposely drove 5 under the speed limit.  He followed.  After twenty minutes I pulled over again and pretended to look for something so he would pass me.  He did, finally.  I drove like the idiot from Washington the rest of the way home.

called my bluff

H-Can you help me get onto Webkinz world?
Me- L has to help you.  I don't know how. 
H- Yes you do!  You have hands!

Mom's Top Ten Lists

It's 9:30 at night and I'm in my room listening to my daughters across the hall rehearsing songs for their Mother's Day production tomorrow.  I'm in love.  Rather than get all sappy on you here I'll give you a couple top ten lists.

Ten awesome things about being a Mom

10.Little foot prints in the sand
9.  I can snuggle and smooch on squishy little cheeks all I want
8.  Anytime I come back from being gone, all my girls will run up to me and hug me
7.  My girls really believe I can make everything all better
6.  I get to do all the things adults aren't "supposed" to do anymore...because I have kids
5.  Right now they still want me to eat school lunch with them.  (Yes, I am fully aware that in five years or less I will be horribly embarrassing.)
4.  I get to decorate my house with all of their beautiful artwork
3.  I will never get tired of hearing, "You're the best Mom in the world!"
2.  Discovering their amazing little personalities
1.   I can finally say, "Because I said so!"

Ten annoying things about being a Mom

10.  I kind of get tired of hearing, "Looks like you have your hands full!" anytime I have my children in  public.
9.  Laundry. Loads of it. Literally.
8.  Most of my day is spent worrying
7.  Washing laundry
6.  Stepping on cereal.  (How does so much of it end up on the floor anyway?)
5.  Forgetting to switch the laundry so I have to wash it again
4.  I miss sleeping
3.  Folding laundry
2.  Putting laundry away
1.  Laundry

I realize I'm biased, but I think I'm the luckiest Mom in the world...and yes, it's worth all the laundry  :)

Don't Call Me "Mom"

I was in the Dollar Store with the girls.  True to her three year old self, H was touching everything and asking me for everything in sight.  Every two seconds she was saying, Mom.  Mom.  Mom.  Can I have this cowgirl hat?  Mom!  Mom. Mommommommommommooooooooooooooooooooooooom!!! 

After a few minutes of this I said to her, "Sorry, I changed my name.  I'm not answering to Mom anymore.  You may now call me Your Highness Royal Queen of Everything." 

Two minutes later Heidi was still pulling everything off the shelves and throwing it all into the cart.  After everything she touched I said, Heidi put that back.  Heidi stop touching everything.  Heidi Heidi Heidi HeidihhhhhhhhhhhhhhhiiiiiiiiidiHi!

H looked at me and said, "Sorry, I changed my name."  and went on her merry way.

I'm in BIG trouble.